Antonio Pineda is a case manager at Andromeda Health Clinic in northwestern Washington, D.C., where he specializes in helping clients who are living with HIV/AIDS. He is originally from El Salvador and has lived in Washington since 2001. In 2007, he was named the LGBT activist of the year by the Embassy of El Salvador.
Cornelius Baker has been a committed advocate at the local and national level for nearly two decades. He is currently a senior communications advisor and project director for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease?s National HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative at AED. He also serves as the National Policy Advisor for the National Black Gay Men?s Advocacy Coalition which is dedicated to addressing the exceptionally and unacceptably high rates of HIV infection among black gay men. From January 2000 through December 20004), Cornelius served as the Executive Director of Whitman-Walker Clinic. Previously, Cornelius served as the Executive Director of the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), an appointee at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President George H.W. Bush and as an aide to Washington, DC City Councilmember Carol Schwartz. He is currently a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services? Panel on Clinical Practices in the Treatment of HIV and serves on the boards of the Black AIDS Institute, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement. In January 2006, he was nominated to serve on the Washington, DC Taxicab Commission by Mayor Anthony Williams and confirmed by the city council to a three-year term.
Jessica McKinnon is recognized and respected in the transgender community as a inspirational speaker and advocate for transsexual and transgender people. Having successfully transitioned in her gender role with her employer in 2006, Jessica has made numerous public and media appearances. Jessica McKinnon is the Chair of Capital Trans Pride 2009. She also serves on the Out&Equal Capital Region Affiliate Council and moderates the DC Metro Area Gender Identity Connection (MAGIC). Jessica was interviewed by CNN and Fox News regarding ENDA, featured in Marie Claire Magazine, and is a regular DC101 radio personality.
Sapna Pandya, MPH is former Director of Programs for the South Asian Health Initiative (SAHI) at Center for Immigrant Health (CIH) of the New York University School of Medicine, which serves to help South Asian immigrants navigate barriers to health care in New York City through community-based participatory research and outreach programs. She recently relocated to Washington DC, where she is furthering her work by expanding to advocacy and capacity-building activities, including trainings and talks in the area of immigrant health. Sapna is also a co-Founder of two unique initiatives: 1) Jeena Circle, a giving circle-style foundation dedicated to raising funds for under-served South Asian immigrant communities in the United States; and 2) Humsafar International, a collective of trainers on sexual health, sexual identity and health access issues. She is actively involved in several of the area’s API LGBT communities and is passionate about addressing socio-political and economic determinants of health, particularly for marginalized communities globally. Her research and programmatic work on HIV/AIDS and gender, done over the last 10 years in India and Pakistan is ground-breaking and is something she remains firmly connected to. Sapna has a M.P.H. from the George Washington University and is an Alumni of the CORO Immigrant Leadership Training Program.
Ed Andrews is a psychotherapist, lecturer, and writer with extensive experience working with the LGBT Community with issues of mental health and addictions, aging and development, illness and loss. He specializes in working with the mental health and recovery issues of gay men across the lifespan usign both CBT and DBT techniques
Aaron Anson is an inspirational writer and new thought coach who is married and lives in Washington, DC with his partner Oliver. He has appeared on several radio shows and spoken at a number of literary events around the country. Raised a black devout christian in the south and endeavoring to uphold instilled beliefs, he married and fathered two children before accepting that he was inherently a gay man. His fascination with the arts, world cultures, and all of humanity has led him to travel six continents. He has participated in relief efforts around the world and several missions that address homelessness.
Elise Roy lost her hearing at the age of 10 and doctors have never been able to explain why. Determined to continue to live the normal life that she had already begun, she refused to lower herself to the new sub-par standards that society began placing on her. Teaching herself using only her textbooks, Elise was accepted to Brown University. While at Brown, she was recognized as one of the nation’s elite athletes. At 24 she became one of just 44 deaf lawyers in the United States. At 25 she became an advocate working at the United Nations, where she helped to author the first international Human Rights treaty of the 21st century. Since then, she has traveled the world working with diverse groups, speaking, motivating, and advocating on their behalf. She has had her personal essays published in Curve magazine, in Eyes of Desire 2: a Deaf GLBT Reader, and has spoken at Pride events.
A 30-year community, human rights and HIV/AIDS activist/advocate in the metropolitan DC area, certified as an HIV/AIDS Peer Counselor & Educator and HIV Treatment Education Specialist; an award-winning writer and performance artist and a highly sought after lecturer and program facilitator for cultural diversity issues and concerns. Native of
Guy-Oreido Weston has worked full-time in HIV/AIDS programs since1986. At present, he is a consultant in private practice that assists community-based organizations with developing and evaluating organizational infrastructure and programs. He is also a writer of essays, op-ed, and short stories about HIV and LGBT issues, whose work appeared the Philadelphia Gay News, Arise Magazine, and the Washington Informer, among others. As a speaker and workshop facilitator, he has presented on a broad array of topics, including, but not limited to various HIV/AIDS issues, cultural competency, HIV and LGBT issues with faith communities, community mobilization, and community planning.
68 , a proud, open and out, Black Gay retired Washingtonian.
Cedric has been out all his life and volunteering most of my life. Cedric currently is a activist and volunteer for gay elders, in the community and assist elder family members. Currently, collects food from food banks to share with others. Gives out information on health care, housing, city programs, free events, savings programs and more. Cedric gives comfort and prayer via phone calls or visits ill persons he knows. Cedric first stared in the fight and education of HIV/AIDS in 1989 when he attended a support group for those HIV+ with Group Health. There he learned of the Inner City AIDS Network (ICAN) and took a class to became an educator with the class #4 in 1990. From there, a volunteer for many years with Food and Friends and Whitman Walker Clinic.
Being HIV+ for over 30 years Cedric has volunteers and gives support and time to the community. One of Cedric’s proudest moment was being a volunteer with the 2012 International AIDS Conference held here in Washington, DC.
- Ambassador for the DC Office on Aging
- Ambassador for A.A.R.P. – D.C. chapter
- DC Dept. on LGBT Affairs supporter
- THE DC ( Gay ) CENTER supporter and volunteer
- D.C. Goverment, D.O.H. / HIV/AIDS Adim. ( HOHSTA & HOPWA ) supporter and advocate
- Housing advocate & volunteer with the * Equal Rights Center & National AIDS Housing Coalition
- Us Helping Us, HIV supporter
- HIV/AIDS & Seniors advocate
- SAGE Metro – DC and supporter
- Supporter of the DC Rainbow History Project
- DC Long-Term Care volunteer with Ombudsman Program of AARP
- Graduate of the C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team ) program ( including Red Cross first aid training )
- Mental Health advocate * Suicide Prevention certified
- Honoree of “OUR HEROS” Exhibition 2015
- Supporter of the Inner Faith Conference of Washington, DC.
- Volunteer and supporter of Mary’s House for Older Adults